Should I have even applied???

Colleges & Universities Princeton University
1

Hey guys!
This has been bothering me for a long time, so I would love to hear your opinions. I applied EA to Princeton and I’m having some doubts. I feel like my scores and ec’s are pretty decent. My essays were pretty good because I spent a lot of time on them. And my letters of rec are probably pretty good as well because I knew those teachers and my counselor well. But one thing has been in the back of my mind that I know will keep me out, and its my gpa. My weighted gpa is a 4.74 because I know for a fact that I took the most rigorous course-load available to me and compared to any other student in my grade. I took 1 AP freshman year, 4 AP’s sophomore year, and 8 AP’s Junior year. Btw I know this may be normal in some schools, but I go to a very average public school where mot kids don’t even take AP classes (in fact, I self-studied a few AP courses cause they weren’t offered to me). As you can guess, I didn’t do so hot because I took too much on at once, and I ended up getting a lot of B’s. Now that’s not even the bad part. Junior year, the year that counts the MOST, I screw up the worse (just my luck -_-). I took AP Physics C, which was the worse mistake of my life. I couldn’t keep up with the class because of all my other AP classes, sports, and commitments and ended up getting a C both semesters of the class. And to top that off, I got a 2 on the mechanics test and another 2 on the E and M test. My uw gpa is now a 3.74, which is abysmal considering 90%+ of princeton students got above a 3.75 uw gpa. But somehow, I’m still in the top 10% of my class. Anyway, I just feel like those 2 C’s, my multitude of B’s and my unweighted gpa will get my application thrown in the trash before it can even get read :(. Here is my resume:

Education
GPA: 3.74 uw, 4.74 w
Rank: Top 10% (600 students)
School type: Large public

TEST SCORES
SAT: 2380 (800 M, 800 CR, 780 W)
SAT II Mathematics Level 2: 790
SAT II Chemistry: 790
SAT II Literature: 710
SAT II Physics: 770
AP Test (Scores): AP Calculus BC (5), AP Calculus AB Sub-Score (5), AP Chemistry (5), AP Statistics (5), AP English (5), AP Psychology (4), AP US History (4), AP Biology (3), AP European History (3)
PSAT: 1460 (710 E, 750 M) - Commended
AMC Scores:
9th Grade - AMC 10A, 82.5
9th Grade - AMC 10B, 94.5
10th Grade - AMC 12A, 76.5
11th Grade - AMC 12A, 76.5

HONORS AND AWARDS
First-Degree Black Belt in Karate (9th)
Top of the Tribe (3x) (9th, 10th, 11th)
Tennis (2 yrs Junior Varsity, 1 yr Varsity) (JV = 9th, 10th and V = 11th, 12th)
AP Scholar Award (10th Grade)
AP Scholar with Distinction Award (11th grade)
Scholar Athlete Award (Tennis) (9th Grade, 10th Grade, 11th grade)

VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
USC Research - I conducted basic science research under Dr. Ram Subramanyan and learned essential lab techniques and practices (Summer 2016) (30 hours, 7 weeks)

Mu Alpha Theta - President and Founder (11th, 12th) (3 hours, 30 weeks)
I educated students and increased their general interest and knowledge in the area of mathematics

Chess Club - Vice President (10th, 11th) (2 hours, 30 weeks)
I helped host and organize school-wide chess tournaments, while promoting the game of chess and teaching the rules of the game to my fellow peers

UNICEF - Publicity (1 year) / Vice-President (1 year) (4 hours, 30 weeks)
I spreading awareness about current conditions of poverty, and potential ways to help communities/people in need of finance

Free the Slaves - Treasurer (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) (1 hour, 30 weeks)
I helped raise money to spread awareness about the unfortunate prevalence of human trafficking

YAC (Young Adult Council) - Member (10th, 11th) (2 hours, 30 weeks)
I planned fundraising events for my local library and came up with ways to encourage children to read more

NHS (National Honor Society) - Member (11th, 12th) (3 hours, 30 weeks)
I tutored students in a variety of subjects and partici community service projects

CSF (California Scholarship Federation) - Member (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) (2 hours, 30 weeks)
I participated in a multitude of community service projects and tutoring opportunities

Ambassador Program - Member (11th grade) (1 hour, 30 weeks)
I mentored and spent time with freshmen students. I gave advice about high school and offered emotional support when they needed it.

LANGUAGES
English - Native or bilingual proficiency
Spanish - Limited working proficiency
Tamil - Elementary proficiency

EXTRA
Took Pre-Calculus Course at Community College (skipped to AP Calc BC sophomore year)
Proficient in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, HTML, CSS
Limited Proficiency in Java and Python

This is just a quick type out, I’m too depressed to write it all out. It just sucks because I know that I’m capable of doing well and working hard in college. But I’m not going to be given the chance. I’m ready to get A’s in every class, and I know I have the aptitude. I feel like every time I fail, I get back up. For example, I took AP chemistry and got B’s both semesters. I was mad at myself, and started studying hard and got a 5 on the AP exam and a 790 on the subject test. Now I want to major in chemistry because I’ve developed a deep interest for it. Same thing with physics. I worked hard and managed to get a 770 on the subject test. And even though the subject test is much easier than the physics C AP test, I hope it still shows that I took the initiative to try to improve myself in the subject.

I guess what I’m asking is, do I at least have as good a chance as any other applicant? Or are my grades going to be a disqualifier? Do you think I can get into some other good schools like uc berkeley college of chemistry, ucla, washU, caltech? What schools would you recommend for an applicant like me who is interested in majoring in chemistry and most likely trying for medical school? My biggest regret is letting my gpa slip so low, but now all I can do is try to get into the best school possible. If you read all of this, thanks so much, it really means a lot. I just need some guidance.

2

Sorry, I wanted to add some quick notes:
First of all, I’m sorry if my previous post had any grammatical errors, I just wanted to spill everything out and wasn’t really concerned with my writing.

And I also wanted to let you guys know that I suffered an asthma attack near the end of my junior year (doctor said it was stress related) during all of my Finals and SAT tests. I had to take medication and miss a lot of school for a few weeks, so that made it hard to catch up on a lot of work. I wrote about this in the additional comments, so I hope this will help them excuse my poor Junior year grades a bit.

But in no way does it excuse my overall GPA. I just wanted to let you guys know what I wrote in the additional comments section.

3

Chill… it is out of your hands now. Go work on your other apps and make sure you have a solid list of matches and safeties you are willing to attend. There is NOTHING you can do now to change whatever will happen. Put your focus on making sure you have as many solid choices as you can in the spring. If Princeton comes through, great! If not, their loss, and some other college will be lucky to have you. But don’t brood about this now. Move ahead.

4

@intparent Hey, thank you for replying. You’re right, I should just relax and cross my fingers. If I keep stressing out, I may suffer another asthma attack.

Your comment has helped me relax a bit. Guess I should just start on my UC apps :).

5

Look … even if you had a perfect GPA still you had a small chance to be admitted to Princeton. So in that regard, you haven’t lost much! What you need to worry more is for schools which are generally more feasible to you (and everyone else!) to attend!

6

@uclaparent9 Haha when you put it that way, it makes sense. It seriously seems like a lottery these days when it comes to applying to ivy league schools :p.

Do you know if it matters whether students in your school generally get accepted to Princeton? I don’t think anyone in my school has ever gotten in. And what if your twin sister is applying as well? Will that change my chances of getting in at all? I feel like they would be scared to accept me and reject my sister, or vice-versa.

7

I don’t think any of the Ivies would ever be “scared” to admit one sibling and not another – twins or not. You’re not competing against other but against the thousands of other qualified candidates. And, yes, it is almost a lottery, but I think of it as a crap shoot, since it’s not perfectly random, but the house holds the edge. What’s done is done. You applied. You’ll get an answer. It may be no, as it will be for the vast majority of applications. But, if you had not applied, your chances of the answer being yes would be zero.

8

@AboutTheSame Very true. The twin thing is a relief for me. But what about whether colleges take into account the acceptance history of a particular school? Do they see if they accepted someone from my high school before, and if so, does it matter at all?

9

There will be schools that will be “known” to admissions more than others to be sure. Magnet schools, prep schools etc tend to be geared toward admission to selective colleges. This certainly does not preclude a student from a lesser known school gaining admission, however. My son was the first from his high school to ever attend an Ivy, and I know of others who were the same.

It sounds to me like you are going through the part of the admissions process where you rehash and second guess and “what if”. All of these thoughts and questions are very normal. It makes for an extraordinarily long 6 weeks until decisions are released, unfortunately, and even longer should you be deferred, which many are. Try to be kind enough to yourself to let what’s done be done, and look to the next application, the next challenge and the next fun event in your life. You’ve worked hard and will certainly land in a great place.

10

There is no quota, no minimum or maximum number per school. As others have said, jitters are normal, But try to relax. It’s out of your hands now.

11

@Cantiger Thank you, your comments were very reassuring and helpful! And congrats to your son, that’s a truly amazing feat!
@skieurope Yep, guess I’ll just wait and see. Thnx!

12

Your GPA isn’t abysmally low by any means. You’re on a 5.0 scale right? A 4.7 w is very good.
I also wouldn’t be too worried with the C’s or B’s because
A- you have a RIDICULOUS amount of AP’s. 13 before Senior year? I go to a competitive high school and have yet the see that.
B- you’re still top 10%, which signifies that your school is difficult
C-you have very good standardized scores and that’s necessary for a Chem major.
D- It’s done. Don’t worry at this point:)

13

@AnxiousHam Thank you so much, your comments really mean a lot to me :). Of course it would be awesome to get accepted, but I know how ridiculously tough it is to get into these types of schools :p. I know wherever I end up going, I’ll be happy.